NASA Target 2 wind, is it worth it?

[slawosz]

I am thinking about installing the above instrument. Although opinions are mixed about reliability. Do you think it is worth it?

 

[jwilson]

I really don't see much point in wind instruments at all, and that NASA one does not havea very nice display if you do like having one.

 

[[70521]]

I am thinking about installing the above instrument. Although opinions are mixed about reliability. Do you think it is worth it?

Yes, my first boat had one. I like seeing the apparent wind speed and direction.

My current boat has Garmin kit and can see both the apparent and true wind speed and direction as it is hooked up to the GPS. Saves having to do one more bit of mental arithmetic on the go.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

I really don't see much point in wind instruments at all, and that NASA one does not havea very nice display if you do like having one.

Yeah man !
More nature less tech rules !
I've been suffering from information overload in life.

I took the decision a few years back to have just two stand alone instruments in the cockpit. They are on a swinging arm so I can push them back if not needed. They are not required most of the time.

 

[Iliade]

The NASA one on my boat is probably more than twenty years old. I had to fit new cups and vane to the masthead unit recently, but otherwise it is ably demonstrating their potential reliability.

 

[Minerva]

We have the clipper wind unit by nasa. It does it’s job & just works. Sure I may have to replace the cups at some point (not yet though) but that’s a simple job by all accounts as I have mast steps.

UK based manufacturing company, great customer service, reliable and good value - not just cheap products.

 

[jwilson]

To add to the earlier post, I have a Raymarine wind instrument (it was fitted before I bought the boat) at the helm but when sailing I hardly ever look at it. I can feel the wind, how the boat is sailing, and when it's time to reef. To windward I use tell-tales, offwind I head where I'm going and trim sails to match, and if really breezy and in sometimes-surfing conditions steer to catch the waves.

I'm not a technophobe: I like modern plotters but a wind instrument is really just one more thing to go wrong.

 

[Rappey]

Do you think it is worth it?

I had a seafarer voyager wind instrument that happily spun at the mast top for 32 years before finally failing and could not be repaired. Was a sad day as the seafarer wind,echo sounder, compass and log proved to have a very long life.
I replaced the wind with a wired nasa system with repeater display all for less than a raymarine masthead unit !
Added the eml log and am more than happy .

 

[neil_s]

I like my NASA Wind.

 

[Buck Turgidson]

Worth what?
You either want a wind instrument or not. If you do, the one you get will depend on your wallet and your other instruments.